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Showing posts with label Greg Porter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greg Porter. Show all posts

Monday, May 8, 2017

Legislator's Force Hoosier Taxpayers to Pay for Governor Mike "Pampered" Pence's Bicentennial Boondoogle!

We wish we could say we are surprised to find out that Indiana lawmakers decided to fork over the money to take care of former Governor Mike Pence's Pork Barrel Bicentennial Projects! But as we predicted back in January:


If past experience is any indication the legislators including Kenley will probably come up with some other bone-headed plan to take care of former Governor Pence's mistakes!


An article written today by the Associated Press appeared on the Indianapolis Business Journal's website which details the bailing out of Mike Pence's stupidity. The AP writes:


Indiana lawmakers are bailing out the state's former governor, Vice President Mike Pence, after the Republican's efforts to pay for two completed projects celebrating the state's bicentennial foundered.
A provision tucked into the state's next two-year budget, which was approved late last month by the GOP-dominated Legislature, sets aside $5.5 million to pay for an elaborate plaza constructed outside the Statehouse in Indianapolis and upgrades to the state library.
"They did the work, so somebody had to pay for it," said Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, who is one of the state's lead budget writers.


As the AP points out though the bulk of Pence's planned projects have yet to be funded:


Still, funding for the rest of the $53.5 million in projects Pence planned to celebrate Indiana's 200th year has not materialized, including financing for a new state archives building and money to build an inn at northern Indiana's Potato Creek State Park. It's unclear when—or if—the state will move forward with those projects, which have been on hold for more than a year.
Lawmakers were skeptical when Pence first pitched the plan in 2015, with Kenley questioning "if we could afford a bicentennial." Pence won them over after proposing to pay for the projects by leasing out 340 state-owned cellphone towers through a public-private partnership.
But one year later, Pence was still struggling to make his plan work. He even declined an offer of help from Kenley, who proposed shifting money from a revenue stream used to pay for some of Pence's other priorities.


As IR wrote back in January:
Lawmakers agreed to spend tax dollars on these assorted projects because Mike Pence had assured them it would be paid for by leasing excess space on state-owned cell towers. And two years later the state has no cell tower deal. Now the IR staff does not generally handle large scale business transactions. But it seems to all of us that both Pence and the legislators share blame for this. Pence should have at least had some deal ready to cover the costs of these projects in full before proposing this to the legislature. The legislators on the other hand should have made certain that Pence actually had something on the table and wasn't just blowing smoke to get them to agree to another of his half-baked schemes!


AP continues:
Then last September, Pence touted a new 25-year deal with Agile Networks that his administration said would expand high-speed internet access in rural areas, while bringing in $50 million for the state upfront.
But that drew opposition from the state's cable and broadband trade groups, which represent companies such as AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner, because it would've allowed Agile—a competitor—to get a leg up and use the state's fiber network.
Gov. Eric Holcomb, Pence's successor, pulled the plug on the tentative plan shortly after taking office this year.
Rep. Greg Porter, the Democrats' point person on the budget, said Pence was counting on "magic money that didn't appear."
"I knew it was highly suspect because it took so long to develop," said Porter, of Indianapolis. "He planned for a party, had the party and didn't have anybody to pay for it."
A spokesman for Pence did not respond to a request for comment.
Kenley said the agreement with Agile ended up being more complicated than it initially appeared and could have negatively impacted local companies.
"The subject matter was more complicated than we initially expected it to be," he said.
It would have granted extensive control of state property to Agile, which would have been in charge of managing and operating the towers. That could have required competitors to reveal confidential business plans when seeking right-of-way approval from Agile to use state lands.
"On the face of it, it was anti-competitive to my members," said John Koppin, president of the Indiana Broadband and Technology Association, which represents AT&T and CenturyLink, among others.
Kenley and Holcomb said they hope to come up with a workable alternative in the future. In a memo, Holcomb administration officials said that the governor intends to "manage the individual leases on towers ourselves instead of seeking proposals for third-party managers."
They also hope revenues from a new deal will finally fund the projects Pence first proposed.


IR's staffs interest was piqued after reading about the now aborted deal with Agile Networks that would have given them what comes dangerously close to a monopoly over the state of Indiana's cell phone towers. Given what has been revealed about Mike Pence we seriously doubted that he wanted to lease the cell phone towers to Agile Networks for the benefit of Hoosiers. So we decided to do some digging into Agile Networks. It appears that Kyle Quillen, a founder and Chief Technology Officer at Agile had donated money to Mike Pence's Campaign. According to Quillen's bio on Agile's website:


Quillen is a "a nationally recognized leader in the design, engineering and deployment of Data Infrastructure aimed at Economic Development and reducing costs for Government."


Quillen's LinkedIn page says:
He is: "Experienced in Public/Private Partnerships aimed at Broadband Development and Data Infrastructure Building."


Sounds like a polite way of saying that Quillen is also responsible for trying to buy access to government officals in order to help fill his companies coffers! Public/Private Partnerships have become synonymous over the past few decades with legalized influence peddling!


Looks like the local and national media should start looking more closely into Agile Networks relationship with Mike Pence. Especially since Eric Holcomb's administration has stated they hope a new deal will come about that will fully fund Mike Pence's proposed projects! Sounds like "Bagman" Holcomb could have killed the deal with Agile only to be setting up taxpayers with an equally bad if not worse deal!


See below for the record of Mr. Quillen's contribution to Mike Pence in 2016:






Committee Name: Mike Pence for Indiana Filing Description: 2016 2nd Quarterly Report
File Number: 6171 Reporting Period: 04/01/2016 - 06/30/2016
Committee Type: Candidate Filing Due: 07/15/2016
 

 
Contributor Type: Receipt Date: Amount: Cumulative Year-To-Date: Large: Contribution Type: Amendment:
Individual 04/22/2016 $500.00 No Direct No
 
Contributor: Kyle Quillen Occupation: Other
518 Fair Ave. NW
New Philadelphia, OH 44663
 



























Sunday, January 29, 2017

Ex Governor "Pamepered" Mike Pence stiffs Indiana taxpayers on State's Bicentennial Consrtuction Projects!

Former Governor and now Vice-President Mike "Pampered" Pence may no longer be in Indiana but we are still stuck dealing with his fuck ups as Governor! Tony Cook once again has another outstanding story. On INDYSTAR.COM today Mr. Cook has posted an article about how our state lawmakers are scrambling to fund several dumbass ideas construction projects that Pence started without a way to fund them! We know you are all just as shocked as we are! This stuff just doesn't happen in Eerie, Indiana! And for all you party hacks out there reading this: Yes we just here insulted you! Tony Cook writes:


At issue are $53.5 million in new projects Pence sought as part of the state’s 200th birthday celebration last year. They included a new $2 million Bicentennial Plaza at the Indiana Statehouse, a $2.5 million education center at the neighboring State Library, a new $25 million state archives building and a $24 million inn at Potato Creek State Park in St. Joseph County.
Construction on the plaza — with its two large sculptures and water features — and the education center already are complete. Some design work for the archives building also has occurred. So far, the state has spent more than $5 million.

Skeptical lawmakers allowed Pence to spend taxpayer money on the projects as part of the state's 200th birthday celebration after he assured them he could pay for projects by leasing excess space on the Indiana's 340 state-owned cell towers.
But two years after those assurances were made, a cell tower deal has yet to materialize.


So let's just think about this for a minute. Lawmakers agreed to spend tax dollars on these assorted projects because Mike Pence had assured them it would be paid for by leasing excess space on state-owned cell towers. And two years later the state has no cell tower deal. Now the IR staff does not generally handle large scale business transactions. But it seems to all of us that both Pence and the legislators share blame for this. Pence should have at least had some deal ready to cover the costs of these projects in full before proposing this to the legislature. The legislators on the other hand should have made certain that Pence actually had something on the table and wasn't just blowing smoke to get them to agree to another of his half-baked schemes!


Cook continues:


Now, Gov. Eric Holcomb, Pence's successor and fellow Republican, is trying to find a way to fill the $5.5 million hole those projects left in the state budget.
He initially proposed dipping into a fund traditionally reserved for public health initiatives, but is now reworking that plan after questions from IndyStar.
The need to find $5.5 million for the bicentennial projects comes at a time when Holcomb is already grappling with a $378 million revenue shortfall compared to what lawmakers had originally budgeted for this year.
"We did the projects. We have to pay for the projects," said Stephanie Wilson, Holcomb's spokeswoman.


In the two-year state spending plan Holcomb sent to lawmakers earlier this month, he sought to use money from the state's Tobacco Master Settlement fund to pay for the projects.
Money in that fund comes from a 1998 multistate lawsuit settlement with big tobacco companies over the health impact of their products. Indiana receives about $128 million a year from the settlement. Other states have used their share of the settlement for unrelated purposes, but Indiana traditionally has reserved the funds for public health initiatives such as children’s health insurance, community health centers, mental health treatment and programs to combat HIV and AIDS.
Holcomb's proposal to use the fund to pay for bicentennial projects raised concerns among public health advocates given the state’s HIV outbreak last year, a sharp uptick in opioid abuse and deaths and the state's 12th-highest-in-the-nation smoking rate.


Cook goes onto point out that last year that State Rep. Greg Porter-D, and other legislators in both parties had questioned if any cell tower deal would be able to fully fund these projects. And what deal that then Governor Pence had in place would most likely have not fully funded the bicentennial projects funding needs!


“That money was intended for health-related programs and that’s where it should go,” said Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis. “Our governor talks about having an honestly balanced budget with no gimmicks. I think this would be a nice gimmick.”
He and other lawmakers raised concerns when Pence first proposed funding the projects with a cell phone tower deal. Even Republican fiscal leaders expressed doubts about Pence's proposed funding mechanism after IndyStar exposed last year that any cell tower deal likely would fall short of fully funding the projects.
“I’m going on faith," Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said last year. "They assured me they can get this done.”
Amid such concerns — and in the heat of the presidential campaign — Pence announced in September that a cell phone tower deal had been reached with Ohio-based Agile Networks. The deal would provide the state with $50 million upfront and more during the life of the 25-year lease, his administration said.
“This agreement, if approved, will put underused assets into full play, enhance Indiana’s communication capabilities throughout the state and fund the state’s bicentennial projects,” Pence said at the time.
What Pence didn't say was that the deal with Agile Networks was far more expansive than advertised. Not only would it have given Agile control over the state's cell phone towers, it also would have allowed the company to use the state's vast fiber network.
That stirred fierce opposition from the state's cable and broadband trade groups, which represent companies such as AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner.
A spokesman for Agile declined comment for this story.


The deal was supposed to go before the state budget committee for final approval in December, but it did not end up on the agenda amid the behind-the-scenes controversy.
Now, the fate of the deal is uncertain.
Wilson said the governor is reviewing "the entire deal."
"It’s not done," she said. "We don’t know if or when it will be done."
In the meantime, Holcomb is backing off his initial proposal to pay for the bicentennial projects with money from the tobacco settlement fund.
Wilson said Tuesday that Holcomb  is now asking House lawmakers to change the funding source for the projects to the general fund.
The tobacco settlement money will instead be used to support a planned increase in funding for the state’s adult protective services, which an IndyStar investigation found last year is woefully understaffed and ineffective in protecting vulnerable adults exposed to abuse and neglect.
“This is in keeping with the governor’s commitment to using health-related funds for health-related purposes,” Wilson said.
When asked about the bicentennial funding problem, fiscal leaders in the General Assembly tried to cast it in diplomatic terms.
"Let’s say we had some friendly jousting going on between me and the (Pence) administration over the bicentennial projects," Kenley said. "At one time I said, 'I’m not sure I can afford to celebrate our bicentennial.' But we went ahead and celebrated. Now that we’ve celebrated, we’ve got to pay the bills."


This story alone shows why most of our legislators in both parties should be thrown out of office! If as State Senator Luke Kenley states that they were not certain they could afford the projects but went ahead and did them anyway. That is reason enough to show that he has no business being in charge of anything! If past experience is any indication the legislators including Kenley will probably come up with some other bone-headed plan to take care of former Governor Pence's mistakes! Kudos to Tony Cook for writing this story! If he keeps this up he will get snatched up by a real news outlet sooner or later!


Update: All of us here are especially honored and thankful for a mention by Mr. Jon Easter about this post on his blog. Click here to read his wonderful work.